Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"All it's cracked up to be"

I started playing this when it first came out, and for some reason ended up stopping at about the 40% mark and didn't go back. I must've been distracted by something else. I remember being impressed at the time, and quite surprised at how well they'd managed to communicate the innate "Batman-ness" of the whole thing - from the gadgets, to the fighting system, and ultimately the solid, tough-guy feeling of the protagonist.

Honestly, it was Batman: Arkham City at E3 2011 that made me go back to the game and pick it up again. Seeing the new game reminded me of how satisfying the original was, and inspired me to try and finally finish it.

It's VERY tough in the build up to the last boss, and some of the Poison Ivy stuff gets a bit silly - but overall I had a blast. The pacing is superb, and the balance of action, puzzle-solving, and small quests (essentially fetch-quests, though they're mainly switch-flippers) makes for a game that you can play in bite-sized chunks. For dads like me, who have to play at weird times of day, and when I can snag a free hour or two, it's very well put together.